A Golden Moment -- and the kitty too

Timber will be 4 months old tomorrow. He is a wonderful, lively puppy who is growing up way too fast! He and Teddy love each other so much. Lily just loves to hang out away from the Goldens.

Slightly Sidetracked

I'm still knitting shawlettes, and the wool pink/raspberry/metallic combination is 8 rows from completion. That will happen this weekend and I will post a photo.

I love the pattern I'm using for it, "Simple Things Shawlette" which can be purchased from Ravelry or perhapy from the designer's website http://www.rainydaygoods.com/

It is such a cute shawlette and easily can be made larger, if you have more yarn available. A predicament that I have encountered with the shawlette I started -- see photo. The pattern calls for 360 yards and I have 421 yards of yarn. After each 10-row section of eyelet I will weight the remaining yarn to help determine how many additional sections I can knit and not run out of yarn. I want to use up the yarn for both, so they will be larger than called for in the pattern.

The yarn is a cotton/wool/polyester combo in gorgeous shades of blue -- it reminds me of the ocean. I found this yarn in my stash and remembered it was a gift from my good friend Roberta who many years ago was very patient with me and taught me the art of sock knitting.

I had decided to make a summer weight shawlette. I decided to use a size 5 needle, instead of the 4 I am using for the wool yarn. The 5 gives a nice fabric but is just a little lighter which I think is perfect. And the colors in this yarn, the texture, and the drape are gorgeous! Thanks Roberta.

Last week at knitting group I was knitting the wool version and said it would be worn for the holidays. That certainly didn't meet with approval (NOT that I was looking for their approval!) from several vocal members of the group. If they knew about the cotton version perhaps they would be relieved.

Shawlette Mania

Top yarn is a nice hand-painted from Ellen's Half-Pint Farm in Vermont; bottom left is a skein of Schaeffer Anne in the "stadium blanket" colorway; and lower right is a ball of Zauberball which changes to unique color combos as you knit (this one is in shades of teals, purples and greys. All have futures as shawlettes. Watch this blog for photos of works in progress.

This is "Boneyard Shawl" a pattern I found on Ravelry. I am using Zauberball DK weight yarn for this. It is in shades of blue and white and I am knitting this easy, quick and fun larger scarf to wear to Penn State football games this fall. It gets cold in Beaver Stadium!

This is "Simple Things Shawlette" a purchased pattern from Ravelry. It is about 3/4 completed and is my knitting focus for this weekend. I want to get it done for a number of reasons -- not the least of which is because I need the size 4 needles for another shawlette! This yarn is a commercial fiber from Berroco in shades of raspberry, pinks, and a bit of greenish-grey. I bought this yarn at MD Sheep and Wool. It caught my eye. Yes, most yarns catch my eye, but this one has a strand of gold shiny fiber running through it. I'm not into shiny fibers but I am knittng this one to wear over the holidays. Bonnie had knitting it in a green blend in a similar yarn and was wearing it on the MDSW bus trip. I really liked it so decided to find the yarn and then got the pattern. I'm so glad she enabled me.

My friends who read this blog know I love to knit socks. I have expanded my knitting passion to add shawlettes to the list. What is a shawlette I was asked at Thursday evening's knitting group gathering. It is a small shawl, often truly a larger scarf. The beauty of shawlette patterns is that most use 400 yards of fingering weight yarn -- a great way to use a skein of sock yarn (of which my stash seems endless). Can sock yarn clone itself? Also for the most part shawlette patterns can be knitted larger if one particular loves the design and wants something larger than a scarf or just a shoulder covering. I plan to use mine as large scarves around the neck of a sweater or to toss over a suit for a new look.

I am still knitting socks, truly I am. I have a pair on the needles and hope to work on them this weekend, too, when the long rows of shawlette get tiring. Summer Sox yarn -- quite nice. To be honest, these socks have been on the needles since fall...I finished one and the other was half finished when I deemed it time to knit wool socks. So hopefully I can get this pair finished in a jiffy.

Fun Photos From MDSW

Just a few things of interest....Am working on two shawlettes. Will photograph and post in a few days. One is in the early stages so it needs time to cook a bit.

Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival

One of my favorite events to attend each year is MDSW. This year was a lot of fun but probably THE hottest weather of the 8 I have attended...94 degrees, sunny and muggy. Joyful! I again coordinated a bus trip for 54 knitters, crocheters, spinners and weavers (and a few non-fibery friends). We all had a great time. Cole Transportation, a local bus company, is great to work with and our driver, Ron, was such fun!

I pledged not to buy as much yarn as usual and I kept my promise. The photo is of the 3 skeins of yarn I purchased -- all for shawlettes instead of socks. A great way to buy one skein and make something nice. From the top we have Creatively Dyed, Ellen's 1/2-Pint Yarn Company merino, and Berroco Sox with a thread of metallic. I think the latter will be a holiday shawlette.

Socks are still a favorite to knit but shawlettes are quickly catching up.

The only other things I purchased was two pair of very pointed Signature circulars with 6" needles in sizes 6 and 7 -- for shawlette knitting of course and a set of stitch markers from Ellen's 1/2-Pint Yarn Company. It is one of my very favorite show stops.